Nack's Golden Mistake
by Nick the Raccoon
Summary: Chapter 1: Nack's Golden Mistake. Nack T. Weasel goes off on an independent mission that quickly ends in failure.
1. Default Chapter

Nack's Golden Mistake  
  
Hello everyone. This here is a story about Nack the Weasel trying to hit it big as usual by hunting  
  
down something of worth... This time, instead of going after the Chaos Emeralds, he is going for  
  
gold. Instead of hitting the jackpot this time, however, he hits rock bottom. So, read and enjoy!  
  
Preliminary 1  
  
Nack and Nic are copyright to Archie. Nack is also copyright to Service and Games (SEGA)   
  
Freedom Call is a real music group (themention of this in the story may seem irrelevant, but I   
  
do have a plan for it in a future Nack and Nic fanfic[hey, that kinda rhymed!]). You may transmit   
  
this work in anyway provided that 1. correctinformation about the writer is given, 2. the document   
  
is unedited (converting to a different file format such as .msw or HTML is ok), and 3. no money is   
  
exchanged in any way regarding this story. Ferreira Mine, as far as I know, doesn't exist as I made   
  
it up. filler filler filler, blah blah blah... yes,  
  
you do have the right to remain silent.  
  
The Story...  
  
It was a quiet Saturday night of July 2019. Nack sat in his room, packing his bag while going  
  
over his plan over and over again in his head. He had been preparing for weeks and had done it all  
  
carefully so that no one but he knew of it. If he could pull this off, and everything went perfectly, he  
  
would have quite a bit money.   
  
His plan was a simple one. He had recently learned of an old abandoned gold mine across  
  
town called the Ferreira Mine. The mine had been closed due to small, frequent, underground  
  
tremors that proved to be fatal to people who were inside. It had been dormant for two decades, but  
  
Nack hoped that there would still be some gold laying in a pile somewhere, left by the victims of the  
  
last fatal quake. If he got his hands on it, he could easily sell it, and best yet was that he wouldn't  
  
have to deal with the risky business of Robotnic this time!  
  
He made sure that he had everything that he needed to pull this off. His laser gun... just in  
  
case. A gas mask, the last thing he wanted was to die of poisonous gasses that might have collected  
  
since the place shut down. A hardhat with a light, as he planned on all forms of electricity being cut  
  
off underground. A first aid kit? 'Nah,' he thought. 'It would take up too much room. The more empty  
  
space I have in my bag now, the more gold I can get back up here!' And, just in case he did hit it big,  
  
he packed a small wireless cellphone relay that would allow his phone to work while several feet  
  
underground so he could call Nic for some assistance with the gold. After all, the more, the better.  
  
Nack finished his packing and decided that it was time to head out. He was about to open the  
  
door when he saw a note taped to the door. "Nack- Went to buy a Freedom Call CD, I'll be home  
  
later. I'll bring dinner this time, so you better be home by the time I get back, cause I ain't letting my  
  
food get cold waiting for you! ~ Nic"  
  
"Weirdo," Nack muttered as he crumpled the note up and threw it carelessly behind him.  
  
Freedom Call? They hadn't made a song in around ten years. Why would she suddenly be into them?  
  
He stepped outside into the warm summer air. He figured that by walking, he could get to  
  
the mine in an hour. He decided to avoid public transit, he thought it too risky. He began his walk.  
  
Nack's feet were light, his spirit high. 'What could go wrong?' he thought. 'Nothing!'  
  
Nack's timing had been fairly good. He arrived at the mine in a little over an hour. He slowly  
  
scanned around the entrance to the mine and behind him to make sure that there were no guards or  
  
any followers. A warm wind blew over his back. He looked to the horizon to see that the sun was  
  
gone except for it's deep orange glow. In a few minutes, the moon would be providing most of the  
  
light. He decided it was time to start. He placed the cellphone relay on a large rock just outside the  
  
cave, looked around one last time, and entered.  
  
He walked through the two double doors that blocked the mine off from the rest of the world  
  
with his laser in his hand. Apparently the place hadn't been as abandoned as he thought at first, but  
  
luckily he still found himself alone. 5 or 6 lights hung from the ceiling, 2 tables sat along the left wall  
  
of the room. On the one table he saw a couple of scientific books, someone's slightly moldy, half  
  
eaten sandwich... nothing hostile.  
  
He continued walking through the cave until he came to the last of the lights. There, about  
  
15 feet ahead, lay the elevator shaft. Signs saying things such as "Caution!" lined the wall, nothing  
  
unexpected. He stepped on the elevator just to test it's strength. It creaked slightly under his weight,  
  
but not dangerously so. Looking down into it without light, all that could be told was that it looked as  
  
deep and dark as the Abyss. He walked back to one of the tables and laid his bag and its contence out.  
  
He strapped the hard hat on, then the gas mask. Then he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked  
  
back into the elevator's frame.   
  
'C'mon baby, work' Nack thought to himself as he looked at the button that would be able to  
  
lower him into the mine below. He pressed it in. He was relieved when he heard gears grinding above him while he  
  
slowly descended into the pit.   
  
He flipped his hat's light on and looked downwards into the darkness through the elevator's  
  
grating floor. The landing was somewhere between 400 to 420 feet below he guessed. He leaned  
  
against the cold frame of the box and closed his eyes, smiling. 'There has to be gold down there... I  
  
can feel it.' A few seconds later, Nack's coolness about the situation ended.  
  
The area around him shook, and his legs felt like melting. A tremor... The elevator suddenly  
  
stopped. He looked up through the large gap in the elevator's ceiling and listened to the creaking  
  
going on above. He dared not move. He hung there for several seconds, deep in fear. Suddenly he  
  
heard a loud snap above, and watched as the entire rope supporting the elevator slackened. With a  
  
yell, he began his long plummet down into the darkness. He couldn't believe how horribly wrong his  
  
mission suddenly became. But he wouldn't simply give up in his situation. An idea quickly flashed  
  
into his head. It seemed like suicide, but he knew that he probably didn't have any more time to think  
  
up anything better. He quickly turned to the wall of the elevator shaft and jumped...  
  
Through the gap in the elevator's metal casing he went. He clawed into the wall, hoping  
  
something would catch. He fell about 5 feet before he found himself grabbing on to a wooden plank  
  
with all his might. Less than a second later, he heard the loud crash as the elevator hit rock bottom and   
  
shattered in all directions. He looked down to find himself hanging about 30 feet from the floor.   
  
His hands were burning, he tried to pull himself up. But he could feel it, the wood was old  
  
and rotted through in some way. Nack hung on with all his might for several seconds, but then a  
  
large chunk of the plank broke off. Nack fell.  
  
He landed on his side, hard. He let out a yell of pain and panic as he landed on a twisted  
  
peice of the smashed elevator. A few seconds later, he tried to shout. "Durn it..." But what came out wasn't a shout, but a  
  
suppressed moan of pain.  
  
He lay there silent for several seconds, eyes shut tightly in pain. When he opened them, he  
  
saw that his light was still working. 'Maybe there is some way out of here.' He tried to sit up, but  
  
when he did, a sharp pain shot through his side down to his leg. He lay back down. "Broken ribs...  
  
broken leg." That's what it felt like. He reached down and felt his side. It hurt. He continued  
  
downward until he reached his leg. Suddenly there was a sharp burning where he touched and he  
  
quickly withdrew his hand. Slowly he reached down again and felt his leg. He noticed a large area  
  
that when he touched it, it hurt like mad. Then he felt it. His gloves had been lubricated by something.   
  
He brought his hand into the light only to see the leather covered in blood.   
  
'This is not good,' Nack thought. 'I gotta get out of here! How?'  
  
He thought for several seconds. He couldn't get up... The elevator was strewn in bent pieces  
  
all around the floor... Even if he could yell, no one above could hear him... A grim reality gripped the  
  
lavender weasel. He was all alone, wounded, in the stomach of the earth. No way out, no help this  
  
time. "Oh no," Nack whispered. "Is this really it?"  
  
He couldn't believe it. He was bleeding badly. That wasn't anything particularly new to  
  
him... but there was no way out. He was going to die this time.  
  
'So this is what it is like... I've finally met my end. I guess I should have just stuck to plain old  
  
emerald hunting than this.' Then he thought about it... the emerald hunting. He was a bounty hunter,  
  
one of the best. One of two. 'Aw, sis. I wish I could tell you not to cry when I am gone. I'm ok, I can  
  
take it.' Then he had an idea. He might not be able to make it out of here alive, but there was still a  
  
way he could comfort her somehow. He slowly pulled the bag off of his back, and dug through it. He  
  
grabbed his phone and turned it on. 'Oh please work,' he prayed.  
  
SIGNAL CONNECTED. PLEASE ENTER THE PHONE NUMBER YOU WISH TO  
  
CALL.  
  
Yes! the relay worked. He ripped off the gas mask and dialed his phone number. Ring...  
  
Ring... Ring... Then the sound of his answering machine. "Hello, Please leave a message." The  
  
machine beeped.  
  
"Hey Nic," Nack started, trying to keep his voice sounding normal, but failing slightly. "I'm  
  
sorry, but I won't be home for dinner t'night! heheh..." He coughed, but to his horror he tasted blood  
  
when he did so. His rib must have punctured his lung when it broke. "Aw, sis. I'm sorry, I won't be  
  
home again. I've fallen down Ferreira mine. By the time you get this message, I will probably be  
  
dead." He thought for a second. Not the word to use there, but he had already said it. "C'mon sis," He  
  
started again, breathing harder and his voice straining more to get his words across. "Don't cry.   
  
Yeah, I'm dyin' down here, but it's ok... It ain't that bad. I'm fine, really."  
  
He thought back on his life with Nic... all the hunts they went on, all their near-death  
  
experiences, all the fun and excitement mixed with the pain and hardship. He had really loved it.  
  
"Nic, I guess I am just now realizing that, well, all the bad stuffs I said about you, all the stuff I did, I  
  
never really ment it. I love you sis..." He coughed again, more blood this time than before. "Well,  
  
sis..." He started up again, his voice parched. "I think I gotta go now... I love you, I'll miss ya....  
  
Goodbye."   
  
He flipped his phone off and lay it on the ground next to him. Then his vision seemed to be  
  
loosing color. He felt dizzy, like the room was slowly spinning. Fire and ice seemed to be flowing  
  
mixed in his blood. He sweat and shivered at the same time, frozen to the core but burning outside.  
  
He looked up the shaft from where he had fallen. This must be it. He closed his eyes, but this time loosely, peacefully. He lost track of  
  
himself...  
  
Darkness... nothing but darkness. That was all the weasel was aware of...  
  
Suddenly he saw something. Some form of dim light. It was slowly growing bigger and  
  
brighter. "God... Is that you?" He asked slowly and quietly to the light. It was very bright now.  
  
"Wow, you really are bright like they say."   
  
Then he heard something... a familiar female voice "Nack, Nack! are you awake?"  
  
"Nic?" The voice sounded far off, but he could recognize her voice from anywhere. He  
  
opened his eyes as wide as he could in the light and tried to sit up, but to no avail. "what..."  
  
"Don't move, you need your rest." Nack looked to the source of the two voices. He saw a  
  
blurry picture of Nic with someone standing next to her. He tried to call to her, but it was like  
  
some nightmare in which his mouth simply stopped working. He found himself  
  
once again submerged in the darkness.   
  
After what seemed like a few minutes he opened his eyes again. He was somewhere different,  
  
but there was still lots of light. He looked off to his side to see a clear picture of Nic sitting in a chair  
  
with her face in her hands. She looked like she hadn't slept in days. It was then that he grasped what  
  
was happening. He was in a bed, and he heard the beeping of an ECG next to him. He was in the  
  
hospital. "Nic," he said, his voice sounding stronger than earlier. Her tear-stained face showed itself.  
  
It revealed suprise, love, and joy mixed in one.   
  
"Nack! Are you OK?"  
  
He tried to sit up again. Nope, still too sore. "Yea, I'm fine."  
  
"I thought I lost you that night," she said crying. "I got home hardly a minute after you sent  
  
the call."  
  
"Wow, what luck."  
  
"I instantly called police, firefighters, medical crews, everything. I knew that there was still  
  
hope." She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes and wiped her nose. "When... When we got to  
  
you, you..."  
  
"I what?"  
  
"You were clinically dead."  
  
Nack was speechless. "How... how am I alive?"  
  
"It was a miracle. Suddenly, as we were taking you out of the area, you inhaled. It was a  
  
struggle, but we managed to keep you alive till we got to the hospital. It took quite a large blood  
  
transfusion in order to stabilize you."  
  
"Sis..." He whispered. "Thanks." He reached his arms up and the two engaged in a warm  
  
embrace.  
  
Two weeks later.  
  
Nack sat in a chair, at his own home, all bandaged up. His broken bones were healing rapidly and very well.  
  
Nic had been waiting on him hand and foot, and was beginning to get slightly annoyed, but she was  
  
still happy that Nack was alright. He was watching the TV, on which he had become the local news.  
  
Some thought he was stupid, others brave. Ah well, he didn't really care. One thing was for sure... he  
  
was alive. But he didn't see how. He had seen it a hundred times already on the TV, his limp body  
  
with it's torn leg being lifted up out of the mine by rescue crews... His lifeless face with a trickle of  
  
blood running down his cheek as they hauled him away from the mine... This was a miracle.  
  
Just then, Nic came in the room. "You got a video message coming in. It's Robotnic."  
  
Nack sighed. "Oh joy. Just the person I wanted to talk to. Can't you answer him?"  
  
"He wants to talk to you, privately."  
  
Nack mumbled flipped the screen to the video message and signaled for Nic to leave. "Hello  
  
Robotnic."  
  
"Ah hello Nack. Quite a trip you had there, I thought I had lost my favorite bounty hunter  
  
there for a second. So, how might you be feeling?"  
  
"Well, I MIGHT be feeling like a million bucks, or I MIGHT still feel like a sack of sh..."  
  
"That's good news!" Robotnic interrupted, trying to avoid being insulted. "So, how long till  
  
you are fully healed?"  
  
"The doc says within a month or so I should be back on my feet and ready for business."  
  
"Excellent! Because I have your next mission ready for you." Ivo Robotnic gave his evil  
  
smile.  
  
To be continued!  
  
Next part: Fallen Angel.  
  
So, how did you like it peeps? This is just the humble beginning. There are still two more parts to this  
  
fic, and each is going to be better than the last. So please send your  
  
suggestions/comments/praises/death threats/etc. to nbyrd@almaheights.org OR to my AIM s/n, Wlbyrd ... OR you could YIM me at frwlgcxl. have a nice day! 


	2. Nic's Perspective

Nack's Golden Mistake  
  
Subchapter 2  
  
Nic's perspective  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Please read Nack's Golden Mistake s-chapter 1 before this. You  
  
will be happier that way, and so will I. Read it at http://www.fanfiction.net/~frwl  
  
~Nick "frwl" Byrd  
  
***  
  
I will always remember that night, those days. Days spent in thought about life.  
  
Hours spent in mourning. That night when I almost became an only child in a family  
  
which was on the brink of extinction...  
  
And in a sense, for a short while, that did happen.  
  
***  
  
"Nack!" I yelled as I pounded on his door. "Nack!"  
  
He cracked it open and looked at me suspiciously. "Wha'd YOU want?" he asked  
  
as if angered to see me.  
  
I could sense that something was up; he was hiding something. "Exactly what do  
  
you do in there?" It was an innocent question, but now that I look back to it, I did throw  
  
in an unfriendly tone.  
  
"That's none of your business!" he snapped, slamming the door in my face.  
  
Again I knocked. "Open up!"  
  
"Go away!" Then silence.  
  
I stood there for a few more seconds, hoping he would open up and be willing to  
  
talk. I hadn't gone to find out what he was doing after all. But he didn't do anything,  
  
didn't say anything. "Stupid brother," I growled under my breath. I'm not sure if I said it  
  
loud enough for him to hear, or if I meant for it to be that way; this was one of our lighter  
  
arguments.  
  
But I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my night plans. I went to the  
  
kitchen, took out a paper and pen, and wrote: "Nack- Went to buy a Freedom Call CD,  
  
I'll be home later. I'll bring dinner this time, so you better be home by the time I get  
  
back, cause I ain't letting my food get cold waiting for you! ~Nic" I had a feeling that he  
  
might try going somewhere for the night. It wouldn't have been his first time doing so.  
  
Sometimes he went to the local bars, other times he would walk into the city and just  
  
wander around. You couldn't blame him; living outside Houston can be pretty boring and  
  
depressing, as with a bountyhunter's life. One needs distractions occasionally to keep  
  
from going insane when in our 'profession.'  
  
Freedom Call... It's a silly little thing I took a shining to. The Internet these days  
  
is an amazing thing; information on anything can be instantly available to you right from  
  
your own home. You could stream audio and decide what's good and what's not.  
  
Freedom Call, I had decided after a few mp3 downloads, was good. I didn't feel right  
  
pirating their works, I figured that my job kept me stealing enough stuff and laying  
  
enough guilt on me as it was. And hey, if it's worth the money...  
  
Yes, they weren't a modern band, but they weren't too old either, their album  
  
publishing days ranging from the late 1990s to the late 2000s. They performed a unique  
  
form of music which could only and rightfully be called 'symphonic metal.' People all  
  
over the world were experimenting with it quite a bit and had been even since my  
  
childhood, but only a handful of groups managed to pull it off with success, FC being one  
  
of them.  
  
I rode into Houston and quickly found my favorite music store. Well, I be durned  
  
if I didn't go through every album and category three times and come up empty handed.  
  
So they were a European band, but tell me that this country didn't carry European albums  
  
in its stores. I broke down finally and asked the guy behind the counter for information  
  
on the situation, and sure enough, they didn't have it. Well, I gotta credit him for honesty  
  
as he pointed me to another store across town that he assumed would have it. So I was  
  
off, and was I glad that I had my airbike or the traffic would have killed me... or someone  
  
else for that matter.  
  
So I picked up the album for a nice price, $15. Eternity was the album's name  
  
that I chose. Some of the catchiest tunes were in there, so I was happy.  
  
As I headed home, I popped in the CD and listened. How any store could not sell  
  
FC's music is beyond me, if people would give them a bit more of a chance, they too  
  
would see how excellent they were.   
  
But then I got to thinking bout Nack and me. Why did we fight? Did we really  
  
hate eachother? No, that couldn't be. More times than I could count we proved that there  
  
was love there. But then why did we fight? That was the burning question. Was there  
  
both love and hate in our hearts? How could that be? I always wished we would just end  
  
it all and get along like we should, like Mama always wanted. So many times we would  
  
get in an argument while on a mission or something and one of us would come out  
  
bearing a resemblance to raw hamburger, and the pain it brought upon us to know that  
  
our last words to eachother were angry ones. But then we would save eachother and  
  
come out crying with joy and such mush... maybe it really was healthy for our  
  
relationship... But hey, speaking of hamburger, I DID say that I would bring dinner home,  
  
and when in Texas, it isn't hard to find a Mc Donallds.  
  
I got home and put the bag of food on the kitchen counter. "Nack! Dinner!" I  
  
called, expecting him to come before long. I noticed the blinking light on the answering  
  
machine; someone had called. I hit the button to hear it and the machine's voice came:  
  
"One new message. Sent: 9:16 PM." I looked up to the wall-mounted clock as it just  
  
turned over to 9:18. I had just missed the call, wonderful.  
  
"Hey Nic," Nack's voice came. Well, it explained why he didn't answer the phone  
  
himself. "I'm sorry, but I won't be home for dinner tonight!" He laughed, and I scowled.  
  
"You idiot," I cursed him under my breath as I took out my hamburger so I could  
  
eat it before it got cold, not thinking much of a sudden coughing spell Nack had over the  
  
line.  
  
There was silence for a few seconds, then he started up again. "Aw, sis, I'm sorry,  
  
I won't be home again. I've fallen down Ferreira Mine." At that, I wasn't sure if I was  
  
gonna spit my food out, but somehow I swallowed it, nearly choking myself in that  
  
attempt. I listened closely to his message, paralyzed by fear. "By the time you get this  
  
message, I'll probably be dead." Those words simply did not sink in with me at first. It  
  
couldn't be happening. "C'mon sis!" he was straining now, I could hear it in his voice.  
  
"Don't cry! Yeah, I'm dyin' down here, but it's ok... It ain't that bad. I'm fine, really."  
  
"T...This is a joke, he's just tryin' to get a rise outta me," I remember saying out  
  
loud. But Nack continued, bringing the situation more horror to my mind.  
  
"Nic, I guess I am just now realizing that, well, all the bad stuffs I said about you,  
  
all the stuff I did... I never really meant it. I love you, sis..." That was something that he  
  
didn't say unless he meant it from the bottom of his heart and only when he felt that it  
  
was of total necessity. This was no joke. He coughed again, this time powerfully, and it  
  
brought chills to my every bone. "Well, sis... I think I gotta go now. I love you, I'll miss  
  
ya... Goodbye."  
  
"End of messages," the machine beeped.  
  
Why was he down there? How did he fall down? What was I going to do? These  
  
questions flooded my mind as I sat there for several seconds in utter shock. Then I  
  
thought of one questions that quieted all the others: Was he still alive?  
  
Instantly I called 911. I don't remember what I said, I was trying to keep myself  
  
from crying, but I knew that I was failing horribly. But by some miracle, the dispatcher  
  
understood exactly what my babbling was. She comforted me, saying that help was  
  
already on the way and that I should head there too. It did calm me a bit, and I agreed to  
  
it all and hung up (I'm not sure if she knew I was going to hang up like that). But I didn't  
  
budge. The reality of it was still sinking in... Something inside me told me that Nack was  
  
dead.  
  
I fell to my knees and wept like I never did before or after in all my life. "No,  
  
Nack! I'm sorry for what I said too! I never meant it, you aren't stupid or a fool or weak!  
  
Don't leave me, not this way!"  
  
Then something hit me, an urge of desperation, something I think I should have  
  
done more often. "Lord!" I cried out in prayer. "Don't let this happen, not this way...  
  
Mamma, you told me that He would always be with us... Please, Mamma, if you can hear  
  
me, don't let him die! I'm not ready to be an only child..."  
  
Some form of pure peace washed over me just then. I slowly stood up and looked  
  
to the clock as it ticked off second after slow second. I knew what I had to do, and so I  
  
ran to my airbike and sped off to the mines.  
  
The rescue workers beat me to the scene. I asked where my brother was, and they  
  
told me that he was on his way up now, but that I couldn't go into the area because they  
  
didn't want to have to fish another weasel out of there. Then the worst thing came over  
  
the radio that held the above-ground party in contact with the workers below. "This  
  
doesn't look too good... I think we lost him."  
  
I sat there, numb at what I heard. "What?" the man I was talking to started in to  
  
the radio. "Can you confirm that?"  
  
A few excruciating moments of radio silence passed before the answer. "Yes."  
  
The man sat there for a few seconds before turning to me. "Miss Weasel? I'm  
  
afraid that your brother is dead."  
  
I denied it over and over again. "No, he can't be dead! It can't be!"  
  
"I'm sorry," the man continued as I kept telling him he was wrong. "He isn't  
  
breathing and he has no pulse. There's nothing we can do..."  
  
"No!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "He is alive! He is! I know it!" I  
  
rushed forward to burst into the mine, but the man grabbed me and held me fast.  
  
"I'm sorry, I know how you must feel! But we can't let you..." I had my limit, so I  
  
put all my strength, emotions, and voice into a punch, which connected with the man's  
  
stomach, sending him strait to the floor. Then I ran for the double-doors that allowed  
  
entrance to the mines, but I barely had the time to kick them open when two pairs of arm  
  
grabbed both of mine and pulled me back. I screamed and pleaded for them to let me go,  
  
but they didn't. Then...  
  
Nack was wheeled out on a stretcher. I saw him and nearly fainted at first. His leg  
  
was torn and he was motionless. His eyes were closed loosely, but his mouth hung open  
  
somewhat, letting a bit of blood stream down his cheek. But rather than fainting, I broke  
  
the grip of the people and ran to his side and hurried along with the rescuers as they  
  
wheeled him into the ambulance, talking to him as I tried to convince him to wake up.  
  
I sat there alone with him for a good half a minute. It was true, he was dead, and I  
  
couldn't help but lament it. By and by, a man in a white coat walked in and sat besides  
  
me. "Hello," he said, holding out his hand, trying to get me to shake it (which I didn't  
  
do). "I am Dr. Wolfram. I'm sorry about your brother... but judging on how he looks now,  
  
he died peacefully."  
  
"Yes," I said with a small but sad smile, not taking my eyes off of my brother. "I  
  
believe he did." I ran my fingers through the hair on his head, mentally reliving notable  
  
moments of our lives. Mission and freetime, success and failure, childhood and  
  
adulthood, through thick and thin we had stayed together as brother and sister, a team  
  
that nobody could match up to. "Oh Nack," I cooed softly. "You forgot your hat..." I took  
  
mine off and was about to place it over his face, but what happened was nothing less than  
  
a miracle.  
  
He coughed once or twice, I couldn't tell, it caught me so off guard that my heart  
  
almost jumped outta me. "God, is that you?" he asked in a parched voice. His eyes were  
  
cracked open, and he was looking up at the central examination lamp. "Wow, you really  
  
are bright like they say."  
  
I gasped, to scared to move at first, afraid that if I touched him that he would be  
  
gone again. "Nack... Nack!" I said softly, "Are you awake?"  
  
"Nic?" he called out, straining to sit up, but clearly too weak to.  
  
"Don't move!" Wolfram replied, equaly caught off guard. "You need your rest!"  
  
"Nic..." he called out again, before going limp again.  
  
"Miss Weasel," Wolfram began as he reached out across the ambulance's  
  
compartment and grabbed a case of sorts. "It seems that you were correct when you said  
  
that your brother wasn't dead, but that won't last long. He needs a blood transfusion,  
  
right now." I would have given him the transfusion all by my self if I had to. Lucky for  
  
him, he was blood type AB.  
  
The doctor started up the transfusion immediately. Yeah, it was kinda painful, but  
  
I had been in worse and I would do anything for Nack. Wolfram slapped an oxygen mask  
  
first on Nack, then on me, saying that I was too excited for the amount of blood I would  
  
have left when he was done. The he hollered for someone to start the ambulance for the  
  
hospital, but nobody did so, they didn't believe that Nack still had life in him. "Do it!" he  
  
shouted. "This man's life depends on it!" Magic those words were, it was like the original  
  
crew was transformed into a new one. Everyone dropped what they were doing and tried  
  
cramming into the compartment to see if it was really true, but the doctor simply shut the  
  
doors and told them to get driving.  
  
We arrived at the hospital in no time. The doctor and driver quickly wheeled  
  
Nack out of the ambulance and into the hospital. I tried to keep up with them, but simply  
  
couldn't find the strength, but I'll assure you that I did make it. A nurse greeted me there  
  
with a plate of cookies and a glass of apple juice; she said that I would need to eat in  
  
order to get my strength back up. Eating wasn't on my mind right then, but she said that I  
  
might as well do so while they were stabilizing and running tests on Nack.  
  
As I sat there in the waiting room, eating and drinking to my own health, I  
  
couldn't help but think about Nack's; how close I had come to loosing him. "Thank you,  
  
Mama," I whispered, knowing that some non-earthly force had done this.  
  
But he wasn't in the clear yet. After a short while, Wolfram called me into Nack's  
  
room. "He seems to be in a coma. He may wake up any minute, or he may never do so  
  
again; we really can't tell at this point."  
  
I quietly accepted this and managed to keep my tears back. "Do you know his  
  
chances? Are they high or low?"  
  
"As I said," Wolfram picked back up, "We can't tell." He looked over to Nack  
  
with an almost mystified facial expression. "It isn't every day that someone comes back  
  
from the brink like that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the lab. I hate to say it,  
  
but your brother isn't the only patient here."  
  
So we were alone. I sat in a chair for a few minutes, listening to the beeping of  
  
the ECG next to him. He was alive, but at the same time, he wasn't. I got up and walked  
  
to his side. He looked just like he was sleeping... so calm, so peaceful. I took of my own  
  
gloves and took ahold of one of his hands. "Nack, can you hear me?" He didn't move. "I  
  
hope you can... you know, I never really hated you. You aren't a fool, even though you  
  
did foolish things some time," I laughed, wiping a tear from my eye. "In fact, I looked up  
  
to you a lot. You're my big brother, and nothing can change that, right?" No response.  
  
Could he really hear me? Were my words too late? I sat down again and sobbed quietly.  
  
Three days passed. Over and over again I had similar "conversations" with him,  
  
hoping that some of it would get through, but I never got a single sign that it was. I  
  
didn't sleep, and at this point my own spirit was failing him. While I wanted to keep  
  
watch for him to come back, I knew that I couldn't do it forever.  
  
One more time I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I had this feeling that  
  
he wouldn't be waking up again. "Hey Nack, it's me again," I started, looking down at his  
  
still face. "Remember all the good times we had together? all of our missions? How  
  
about that one time when the boiler blew it's top? I thought you were a goner then, but  
  
you were stronger than that..." I paused for a second before continuing. "And how about  
  
that time at Albion? That time, you saved MY life! What would I do without you?" I  
  
laughed to myself as I answered it. "Died, I guess." I thought about it. Now what was I  
  
gonna do without him?  
  
"Well, I guess that you weren't lucky enough this time, eh Fang?" I paused trying  
  
to hold my tears back yet again. "It IS ok; we all have our times, and I guess you just  
  
came to yours first. There's nothing to do but accept that, I guess. But we'll see eachother  
  
again one day, right? One day, Another Day..."  
  
I couldn't go on any more, I sat back down and cried. I might have cried myself  
  
into some form of sleep. I don't know how much time passed, but something awoke me.  
  
"Nic..." The voice came to my ears. I looked up, half of my mind telling me that it was  
  
real, the other half telling me that I dreamed it up. As I looked at him, he was awake and  
  
looking at me. "Nic..." he called out again.  
  
I stood up, hardly unable to understand that it wasn't a dream. "Nack! Are you  
  
OK?"  
  
He strained for a few seconds, like he was trying to get up or something. But he  
  
fell back to his pillow after a few tries. "Yeah, I'm fine..." He replied with a tired lil'  
  
smile.  
  
I started crying with joy. "I thought I lost you that night... I got home hardly a  
  
minute after you sent the call."  
  
"Wow, what luck."  
  
"I instantly called police, firefighters, medical crews, everything. I knew that there  
  
was still hope... that you wanted to live." I paused to regain my composure. "When we  
  
got to you... you..." How could I tell him? It was so painful just thinking back to that day.  
  
"I what?" He asked, wanting out with it. Well, here goes nothing.  
  
"You were clinically dead."  
  
He just looked up at me for a few moments, unable to believe it himself. "How  
  
am I alive?"  
  
"It was nothing short of a miracle. As we were taking you out of the area, you  
  
inhaled, started talking. It was quite a struggle, but we managed to keep you alive till we  
  
got to the hospital... It took quite a large blood transfusion in order to stabilize you."  
  
"Sis... you...?" I didn't let on to it, but he knew that it was I that gave the donation.  
  
"Thanks." We hugged then, crying in eachother's arms. It wasn't a big hug, he was  
  
limited from his position, but it doesn't take a big hug to show a lot of love.  
  
A few days passed, and during that time I was able to get some much needed rest.  
  
It was a smart move of mine too, cause Dr. Wolfram said that Nack was healing up so  
  
well that he could come home. That made me his personal servant. I didn't mind it much,  
  
it was definitely better than being his hostess at his funeral.  
  
Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotik called up one day; said he had a mission for us. Nack  
  
and I were ready to accept it... as soon as Nack was out of his bandages that is. One thing  
  
was for certain: I wasn't going to let Nack die before me this time. Little did I know what  
  
that meant at the time.  
  
Next Subchapter!  
  
Fallen Angel: Nic's Perspective  
  
+Spoiler for chapter 8: Rain of a Thousand Flames 


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